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New coach
excited to
come to PSA
Harrison Chipkin is just 29 years old, but the new assistant basketball coach at Putnam Science Academy is beyond those years in experience.
“I’ve kind of bounced around and been a little bit of just about everywhere,” the Rocky Hill, Conn., native said. “But I’m excited to come to Putnam. I know a lot about these guys and know a lot of guys move on. It’s been a great experience already. I’m enjoying my time. I worked the camp a few weeks ago and will be back in August. It’s another chapter for me and I’m looking forward to it.”
Chipkin’s most recent stop was at Bryant University (as the director of Scouting and Video Analysis), where the PSA coaching staff has developed strong relationships, leading to this current position. He’s also been at Florida Gulf Coast University, Albertus Magnus (when the Falcons defeated Jim Calhoun’s St. Joseph’s team for the conference tournament title), Broward Community College in Florida, and worked training NBA superstars such as Russel Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Marcus Smart, and Paul George for two offseasons. He also played college ball at Western New England.
“His recommendations are off the charts” said PSA head basketball coach Tom Espinosa. “He’s a phenomenal human being, who brings a great deal of knowledge. He’s got several years of experience at all different levels. We are very excited to have him join us. He fits our program to a T.”
In addition to bringing his wealth of knowledge to the back-to-back national champion Prep team, Chipkin is also expected to be the head coach of PSA’s Varsity team.
“I know once we get going that the basketball season is very demanding,” he said, “but being at the Division I level is an entirely different level. I am prepared for and looking forward to what this season will bring to us, but it is giving me a chance to step back a little bit and see what happens next. I needed to be a little closer to home right now, and this is a chance to do that and still be involved with the game at an extremely high level.
“I do like having a plan but I feel like I had been too focused on that lately. I’m honestly just going with the flow and I’ll asses what’s next later on down the road, whether it’s taking on a bigger role at PSA or going back to college.”
Chipkin said that when he was playing, he didn’t think too much about the relationship between himself and his coaches. But now that he is in that role, those connections with players are what he really enjoys.
“To be able to really connect with the guys and help with their careers is a special opportunity,” he said. “At Florida Gulf Coast, we had a guy, Kevin Samuel, who was at a couple different schools and now has gone on and is playing in the second division in France. That’s cool to see that. And a guy like Tavian Dunn-Martin, he’s like a 5-foot-8 pipsqueak who can shoot the lights out, and he’s played in Slovenia and now going to the top division in France. To see his growth and development was something I never thought of doing. This stuff is just fun to be around, and I’m looking forward to doing that with this group of young men we’ll have in at PSA.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
.